UK Afro with Village Cuts
This summer has been the first time Mother of Mankind has been out and about, DJing at gigs and festivals. Watching so much live music made me realise what a great Afro scene there is here in the UK, with so many amazing artists, groups and producers based here. So, I decided to do a show to spotlight those artists and have featured a number of groups who I have supported behind the decks this year.
At Good Vibrations Festival I warmed up for, among others, London Afrobeat Collective and Samaki, and at Frome Festival (in my new home town) I warmed up for Fofoulah (you can hear the full live gig from them here). I also featured some tunes from producer pals, including Matt Benyayer (Dark Sky) and Ben Gomori.
I invited the excellent Village Cuts to do a UK-only guest mix for the show. Village Cuts are a producer and DJ duo from London who focus on Afro and Latin sounds and have been putting out high quality music for a few years now. They have a strong connection to Kenya, particularly the Bengatronics label who they have collaborated with over the past few years including some recording sessions in Nairobi.
They have been making some heavy remixes, DJing at festivals and putting on their own parties. This year even saw them host a takeover of the Babylon Uprising stage at Glastonbury. Their mix was right on point, with a great balance of African instruments and voices with some high-quality dancefloor focussed production. They’ve also included their as-yet unreleased tune Digida featuring Swordman Kitala. Hope you enjoy their mix as much as I did!!
Full Tracklist:
The Clean Up (Rahas) - Fofoulah
Daimla - Electric Jalaba
Ek Se Ou Windhoek Toe Nou - Samaki
Power To The Women - London Afrobeat Collective
Baiskeli (Aroop Roy remix - Orchestre Les Mangalepa, Village Cuts, Shama
Sama Kebbalu (Ben Gomori's Gomori's Lead By Example Edit) - Dawda Jobarteh
Comboio (The Busy Twist Remix) Os Kiezos
Kanonge (Village Cuts Remix) - Boaz Jagingo & Bengatronics
Village Cuts Guest Mix:
Motherland Journey - Blue Lab Beats, KillBeatz & Fela Kuti
Frenzy - European305
Koko (ft. Mista Silva) - Karen Nyame KG
Sise Ntweni (ft. Aymos) - Hagan
Style & Fashion (Ben Gomori’s Extra Chaud Edit) - Pa Salieu (ft. Obongjayar)
Banzutu (ft. Mulele Matondo Afrika) - Village Cuts
Unreleased - Village Cuts
How You Flow - Janice Iche x NKC
Dance Asokpo - Raz & Afla
Digida - Village Cuts & Swordman Kitala
Pepper Dem - Magugu
Sam Sam (Village Cuts Remix) - Afriquoi
Talkin' Drums (ft. Touré Kunda) - Melé
Yagana - Pigeon
Fufafou - Falle Nioke & Ghost Culture
Mayolye (Nik Weston Official Mukatsuku Edit) - Ondeno
Wanna See Your Face Again - Ibibio Sound Machine
Cambia - Dark Sky
Ceffylau - Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita